Public health nursing in primary care

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Abstract
Public health is a collective, or population, view of health needs and health care rather than one which focuses on individuals (NHS Executive 1997; Royal College of Nursing 1994). While public health nursing is currently the subject of considerable attention, it is also the subject of considerable confusion, with many nurses in primary care unsure of how current debates impact on their work. This article examines the context within which modern public health nursing is set and goes on to describe, using case studies, what public health nursing looks like in practice. While it is acknowledged that there are many barriers to developing this work, these are identified and suggestions made for how individual nurses can begin to overcome them. However, a note of caution is also sounded. Public health nursing should not escape critical scrutiny; practice should still be evidence based, work carefully evaluated and an awareness of the wider issue of public health as a mechanism of social control is necessary.

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